In Photos: Bolt and De Grasse ‘bromance’ at Rio 2016
“Bromance” is probably the wrong term.
Olympic champion Usain Bolt and bronze medallist Andre De Grasse are competitors, highly respectful of one another’s talent, and always put on a great show for fans. While talent binds them, pop culture however, favours simplistic buzzwords, so bear with the headline and let’s get to some great images of these two superstars basking in Olympic glory.
The semifinal
After the two runners finished 1-2 in their semifinal heat, their mutual admiration that’s been building since last year’s world championships, became apparent at Rio 2016. Bolt looked over to his sprint heir apparent at the finish line and grinned, as if to say “not yet.” De Grasse extended his right arm, acknowledging the legend’s undeniable ability, Bolt reciprocated with a tap on the Canadian’s back.
RELATED: Bolt & De Grasse go 1-2 in semifinals
“He motivates me,” De Grasse said about their give-and-take on the track. “Like in the semifinal, you know he just kicked into a next gear and I tried to go with him a little bit, and then I was like ‘wait it’s the semifinals why am I even trying to chase him right now?’
The Final
While De Grasse was wise to leave something in the tank for the final, catching Bolt in a major competition proved elusive again for the 21-year-old Canadian – as it has for every sprinter on the planet. In the moment before the finish line where most runners lean in to edge the field, the Jamaican was fully upright, pounding his chest and celebrating becoming the first-ever three-time Olympic 100 metre champion.
RELATED: De Grasse wins Olympic bronze
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“It’s going to be tough,” De Grasse said about going after Bolt’s records. “Its going to be a challenge. My body knows what it feels like to run 9.7, I felt like I had a 9.8 in me today, but its all about executing on the right day and I’m still young. So I feel like it’s going to be a while and it’s going to be tough to break the barrier (to) 9.5 but I’m going to try to do that.”
Bolt’s world record is 9.58 seconds, on Sunday he won in 9.81, while De Grasse had a new personal best of 9.91 but has run a wind-aided 9.75 in the past.
The Celebration
While second place finisher American Justin Gatlin came between Bolt and De Grasse on the medal table Sunday, there was no separating the ecstatic Jamaican and his Canadian protégé once they both secured their Olympic hardware (it was Bolt’s seventh gold, he doesn’t own any Olympic medals of another colour, probably wouldn’t know what to do with it if he did).
RELATED: De Grasse wins bronze (in photos)
His 30th birthday coming fittingly on the day of the Closing Ceremony in Rio – which he admits is his last Olympic Games – Bolt seems ready to pass the baton (pun painfully intended) to De Grasse. The Canadian though, refuses to get ahead of himself.
Andre De Grasse (left) and Usain Bolt after their 100m final race at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 14, 2016.
“Yeah he has (talked about it) but I don’t listen to what he says he’s always joking around,” De Grasse said when asked if Bolt discusses succeeding him on the world’s stage. “For me I don’t really pay attention when it come to that. I like to talk about other things. We joked a lot in the call room, on the track, it kind of felt like it was fun, not too serious when you’ve got a guy like him.”
While De Grasse downplayed the talk of being ‘next,’ Bolt was unrelenting in his praise, saying that the Canadian “runs like me,” referring to both sprinters’ slow starts and phenomenal closing speed. There can definitively be no greater compliment than the fastest man in history saying those words to a sprinter.
So, is it a bromance? Who cares. Shut up and watch them hug.
Usain Bolt (left) and Andre De Grasse hug after their respective gold and bronze medal finishes at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 14, 2016.
